Conference USA: Day Two

HOUSTON, Texas, February 16. SMU and defending champion Rice staged a back-and-forth exchange of the team lead during the second day of the 2012 Conference USA Swimming and Diving Championship at the University of Houston Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, with SMU ending the day with a 10-point lead.

Sophomore Nina Rangelova of SMU repeated as the women's 500-yard freestyle champion with a time of 4:42.47, an NCAA "B" standard time, to open the Thursday evening finals session and add to the SMU team total. Rice freshman Erin Flanigan claimed second place (4:49.19) while teammate Danielle Spence (4:52.07) made it two in the top three for Rice. In all, four Rice swimmers scored in the event and pushed the Owls into the team lead after six events.

Another Mustang, senior Therese Svendsen, won her second straight 200-yard individual medley in NCAA "B" standard and C-USA meet-record time of 1:58.08. Rice senior Shelby Bottoms also met the B standard (2:00.64). SMU claimed third when freshman Rachel Nicol (2:02.22) edged Rice's Michelle Gean (2:02.49) at the wall. The Owls again placed four swimmers and expanded their team lead to 44 points through event eight.

The SMU sprinters pulled back 32 points during the 50-yard freestyle, scoring first-place points from Isabella Arcila (23.00) and third-place points from Monika Babok (23.25). Rice sophomore Chelsea Fong was the event's second place finisher, clocking a 23.21. Four SMU swimmers earned team points during the event.

A Houston diver won the three-meter contest for the fourth straight C-USA championship meet as Julia Lonnegren scored 361.75, a season best, to out-point teammate Natasha Burgess (344.75). SMU's Sky Corbett-Methot took third place (305.50) to propel the Mustangs back into the team lead by four points, 229-225, ahead of Rice.

During the 400-yard medley relay, the final scoring event of the evening, SMU stretched its lead to 10 points as the team of Therese Svendsen, Erica Donadon, Genny Konicke and Nina Rangelova just missed meeting the NCAA "A" standard with a 3:32.77, just 0.21 off the mark. Rice (3:43.11) also met the NCAA "B" standard and claimed second place, while Houston (3:45.66) edged East Carolina (3:45.85) for third.

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